


Hidden Lives

by Abraham



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:42:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26723098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abraham/pseuds/Abraham
Summary: A new case takes Higgins and Magnum on a journey into the past.
Relationships: Juliet Higgins/Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV
Comments: 20
Kudos: 129





	1. Chapter 1

Higgins looked up from the pile of papers she was sorting through to glare at Magnum. She had been doing that off and on for the past day.

He put down his stack of papers and sighed.

“Higgins. Are you going to be mad at me for the next two weeks?”

“Perhaps.”

“It’s going to be a really long two weeks then.”

A few days ago, Magnum had received a certified letter from an attorney in Minnesota. The attorney’s client had asked that when she died, Magnum (and of course his partner) were hired to settle her estate. Not the financial end of things, that was all taken care of, but apparently Colette Bauer had some unfinished business she needed to have cleared up. The only problem was that the unfinished business was buried somewhere in a house that was filled to the brim with 70 years worth of memories. 

Work had been a little slow lately and Magnum had agreed to take the case without fully consulting Higgins. In essence, it meant that Magnum and Higgins were glorified maids. Hence the glares and sighs every so often.

“Look. She’s paying us really well to get all of this taken care of,” Magnum said.

Higgins grudgingly agreed.

With the lawyer’s full consent, they moved into the house to avoid the roundtrip drive every day and hopefully to finish things up early.

“I don’t understand the Minnesota connection,” Higgins said. “It seems that Colette had lived here for most of her life. I mean, she moved into this house when she was 25 and she was 97 when she died.”

“I don’t know either. Maybe the answer to that question is somewhere in here,” he said, glancing around the room. “Why don’t you continue looking through the papers in this room and I’ll go tackle the garage.”

“OK,” she said, walking over to the bookcases. “How about two hours. Then we can get some dinner.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Higgins ran her hands over the books on the shelves. “What is your secret Colette? What were you hoping we would find?”

Most of the books were novels with a few Hawaii history books thrown in. The shelves were built on top of cabinets and Higgins tugged open the one on the far left.

“Ugh. It’s been awhile since these things have seen the light of day,” she said, coughing. She dragged a box out from the cabinet and open it. It was filled with what looked like journals. They were journals. Higgins pulled out the one on the top. 2019. She dug down through and realized that each year had its own book. Some years had two books. 

Higgins opened the 2019 journal. The handwriting was shaky, but determined. She paged through and read about Colette’s days, the weather, what she had for dinner and who stopped by to visit. 

Suddenly, she remembered seeing a similar book by the bed in the master bedroom. She ran upstairs and found what she was looking for. The 2020 journal. Colette had written in it faithfully up until a week before she died.

Higgins ran her fingers over the words on the last entry. “I am so tired these days. I think it is almost time. I am so very excited to see Jack again.”

“I wonder who Jack is.” She carried the journal downstairs and put it with the others. She pulled all the books out of the box stacking them in order. The first book in the box was from 1939. She leaned back against the couch and began to read.

“My parents are so frustrating,” Colette had written. “There is a war going on around us and they choose to ignore it. I used to think Jack was so annoying, but he actually understands.”

Higgins made it about halfway through that first journal before Magnum returned.

“Higgins!” He startled her and she dropped the journal. “I’m doing all the work while you sit around reading?”

“Honestly Magnum. Now you know how I feel All. The. Time. Besides, I was doing research. I found a box filled with journals starting in 1939. She wrote all the way up until she died. It’s actually quite wonderful. I wonder if she has family?”

Magnum smirked at her. “So it looks like someone’s coming around to embrace this case.”

“I didn’t say that. Just maybe this will help us understand her a bit more. Let’s go get some dinner. I’ll be ready in a minute.”

While Higgins went to change, the doorbell rang.

“Well hello there neighbor. I’m Todd Kimball. My wife and I live across the street. We noticed some action in old lady Bauer’s house. Are you the new owners?”

Thomas immediately didn’t like Todd.

“Yeah. Something like that. I’m Tom Miller.”

“Is there a little lady? My wife Mandy and I would love to have you over for dinner tomorrow night.”

“I’m not sure what our plans are.”

At that moment, Higgins came downstairs and Todd’s eyes immediately latched onto her. Thomas narrowed his eyes at the man.

Reaching for Higgins, Thomas put his arm around her. “This is my wife, Juliet.”

The stars must have aligned and the gods were smiling down on him because Higgins did not punch him. Instead, she reached out her hand and shook hands with Todd.

“Nice to meet you,” she said, standing in Thomas’ embrace.

“Todd here invited us to dinner tomorrow night. I told him I wasn’t sure what our plans were yet.”

“Oh how nice. That sounds lovely,” Higgins said.

“I guess we’re in, Todd.”

“Awesome. I’ll tell the wife. Would 7 work?”

“Great,” Magnum said, sighing.

As soon as the door closed, Higgins stepped back.

“Wife?” she hissed when they were sure Todd was gone.

“He seemed smarmy.”

“Smarmy? First off, does anyone ever use that word? And second, you do realize that I can take care of myself?”

He sighed. “Yes. I know. You run circles around me in the taking care of department. I honestly don’t know why I said it. Can we just go get some dinner?”

He really didn’t know why he said it. When it came to Juliet, he found himself being super protective lately. Which did not bode well for his welfare as she just pointed out. She definitely didn’t need anyone to take care of her. Why did he want to all of a sudden?

They ate outside watching the waves roll onto the shore. They talked about a few things from the case and agreed to continue the massive search in the morning.

When they returned to the house, Higgins took the 1939 journal to Magnum’s room. She knocked on his door. “Are you decent?”

She heard him chuckle and then say “yes.”

He looked up as she settled onto the bed next to him. 

“Comfortable?”

She ignored him, refusing to admit to herself that she actually was quite comfortable.

“Listen to this. Colette and Jack met in high school. He was a year ahead of her and he joined the Navy as soon as he graduated. He was a bit of a playboy and drove her crazy with his carefree ways. Does that sound like anyone we know?” She looked pointedly at him.

“Jack sounds like a good guy,” Magnum said, leaning back against his pillows, yawning.

“But Colette had plans for her future. She wanted to go to college and become a nurse. Jack just went where life took him.” Higgins snorted. “Boy does that sound familiar.”

She looked over at Magnum, but he had fallen asleep on his side with his hand curled under his cheek. Instead of being annoyed, she had the sudden urge to cover him with a blanket. And what was worse, she wanted to curl up next to him and close her eyes.

She jumped off the bed before she could act on her impulse and rushed out the room. What was wrong with her?


	2. Reading between the lines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnum and Higgins continue to delve into Colette's life.

Higgins spent a good part of the night reading. She found the Minnesota connection in the second half of the 1939 journal. Both Colette and Jack were originally from Little Falls, a tiny town in the middle of the state. After pursuing her for months, Colette finally agreed to go on a date with Jack. While she still didn’t fully appreciate his lack of goals or ambition, she couldn’t help fall for his kindness. He would do anything for his friends. And her.

The more Higgins learned about Jack, the more she realized that Magnum was the exact same person. She smiled at some of Jack’s adventures and teared up when he shipped out with the Navy. Colette confessed in that journal entry that she was in love with Jack.

The next morning, Higgins was up early and already halfway through the 1940 journal when Magnum wandered down.

“Find anything good?” he asked.

“They were both from Minnesota originally. It still doesn’t totally make sense why she hired a lawyer in Minnesota when she spent the bulk of her life here in Hawaii.”

“That is weird,” he said, pouring himself a bowl of cereal.

Higgins was already reading again.

Now Colette was writing about her long-distance relationship with Jack and how she missed him desperately.

“I didn’t realize that it would hurt this much to be apart,” she wrote. “I miss everything about him. His confidence, his sense of humor, his wonderful smile.”

Higgins looked over at Magnum. Was that what attracted her to Thomas? He did have an amazing smile and he was always so confident.

Magnum looked up at her, swallowing a bite of cereal.

“What? Why are you staring at me?”

She felt her face flush and looked away quickly.

“I wasn’t staring at you. I was thinking.”

He grinned at her. “Thinking about me?”

“Seriously Magnum. Don’t you have something to do?”

He finished his cereal, still smiling.

They spent most of the day sorting through the remnants of Colette’s life.

Higgins had organized the desk and filled two recycling bins with old papers and magazines. She boxed up the novels from the office and made a note to contact the local library to see if they were accepting donations.

She treated herself to a break and finished the 1940 journal.

Magnum wandered in to get some lunch.

“Listen to this. Jack was stationed at Pearl Harbor and Colette decided to follow him to Hawaii. Her family was so mad that her parents refused to talk to her. How sad is that?”

Magnum sat down across from her. She looked adorable with her hair pulled back. She was so serious about the journals that he couldn’t help being interested. “What did she do when she got here?”

“She was feisty. She joined the Cadet Nurse Corps. It was a nursing program for high school graduates. She was stationed at Pearl Harbor too. Most of this part of the journal is about her job and how much she loved it. She and Jack spent all of their days off together. There were dances and dinners. If there wasn’t a war going on, it would have been such a magical time. She makes it sound like it was anyway.”

“I told you Jack sounded like a good guy,” Magnum said. “Hey, about later, we do not have to go to dinner at Todd and Mandy’s.”

“I know. We might be able to learn something about Colette though. I think we should go.”

Thomas sighed.

“Why don’t you want to go?”

“I don’t like the way Todd was looking at you.”

Higgins frowned, but before she could say anything, Thomas said, “I know I know. You can take care of yourself.”

“Yes. I can. But thank you for looking out for me.”

They finished cleaning up the office together.

“Well, I guess whatever Colette wants us to find wasn’t in here,” Higgins said.

Magnum nodded looking around the room. “I guess not.”

They both got ready for dinner.

Higgins came down wearing a sundress with a scooped neck and Thomas couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

He stumbled awkwardly over his words, finally spitting out, “You look nice.”

Higgins laughed. “Thanks. I think. You look good too.”

The dinner was annoying at best. Mandy wore a skin-tight mini skirt with her makeup painted on and was practically drooling over Thomas, which Higgins did not like one bit.

Thomas was shocked when she leaned closer into his side and grabbed his hand.

When he frowned at her, she looked up at him smiling and squeezed his hand. He knew for sure that Higgins was annoyed when she sat so close to him on the couch that he could feel her breathing. And while Higgins was totally aware of what Mandy was doing, Thomas was clueless, focused entirely on the beautiful woman sitting right next to him.

It turned out that Todd and Mandy knew nothing about Colette. In fact, they called her 'Celeste' the whole time. They were very curious about what Colette left behind in the house, though, and didn’t seem to believe Thomas when he said the most valuable pieces were probably the journals.

“Who is going to buy a bunch of old worthless journals,” Mandy said. “There has to be some jewelry in there or maybe money hidden in the walls.”

“I’m pretty sure the attorney handled all of the financial things,” Higgins said.

Todd then babbled on about his modeling career and Mandy brought out the worst-looking pie they had ever seen for dessert.

They were finally able to leave when Thomas feigned a migraine.

“Oh thank God!” Higgins said when the front door closed and they made it across the street. “I should have listened to your bad feeling about them. They are dreadful.”

“Wait. What? I was right? Can you say that again? A little slower this time and enunciate on the word ‘right.’” 

She shoved him slightly, smiling. “Yes, you were right. In this one, very rare, instance.” 

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Stick with me Higgy and everything will be alright.”

She was laughing when they walked in the door and found the house torn apart.

“Thomas!”

They quickly cleared each room to make sure whoever had ransacked the place was gone.

“It had to have been Todd and Mandy,” Higgins said.

Thomas was furious. He called the local police department. They came to take a report, but because Magnum and Higgins weren’t entirely sure what was in the house, they couldn’t be sure if anything was missing.

Higgins had immediately checked to make sure the journals were still there. They had been tossed around the room, but she found them all.

Thomas kneeled down next to her as she gathered them up, stacking them in order.

He handed her 1941. “Todd must have called someone when we got there. Did you see how he kept checking his phone?”

Higgins nodded.

“That’s why they kept asking us about jewelry and money. I thought they were just idiots, but they played us,” Magnum said.

Higgins looked over at him and put her hand on his arm. “I feel like they desecrated Colette’s memory. We need to make them pay.”

“I agree.” Thomas stood up and reached his hand out to Higgins to pull her up. “We can’t really do anything else tonight though. Why don’t you tell me some more stories about Jack and Colette.”

Higgins smiled. “Now who’s interested?”

Oh, he was interested all right. He was just more interested in spending time with Higgins and if that meant listening to stories about Colette and Jack, then he was all in.

Thomas fluffed the pillows behind his head. He was in Higgins’ room this time.

She glanced over at him and then tried to focus on the journal in front of her. “It’s early 1941 now,” she said.

“What’s going on with the war?”

“She writes about the United States being concerned about an attack by the Japanese, but things were still pretty stable at this point.”

Higgins read silently for awhile.

“Oh my God!” she said suddenly, startling Magnum who had started to doze off.

“What’s wrong?”

“Colette’s pregnant!”

“What?”

“She’s pregnant. She hadn’t been feeling well around Easter. Jack was worried and made her go see the doctor on the base.”

Higgins sat up and poked Magnum. “Thomas! She has a son or daughter. Why aren’t they here going through her things?”

“I’m not sure, but I bet the answer is somewhere in those journals.”

She lay back down next to him, reading until she fell asleep. Thomas was already fast sleep next to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have taken a few liberties with the Cadet Nurse Corps. It didn't actually begin until a few years after the attack on Pearl Harbor.


	3. Diamonds are a girl's best friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Higgins may have figured out what Todd and Mandy are looking for.

Thomas was working in the garage when Higgins came in, angrily brushing away tears.

“What’s wrong?” He immediately tossed the hammer he was using onto the work bench and grabbed her arms. “Are you hurt?”

“Jack died.”

“What?”

“Jack. He was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor,” she said, shoving the 1941 journal toward him. “He died and he never met his baby.”

“Oh Higgy,” Magnum said, pulling her into his arms. She sniffled against his shoulder, as he rubbed her back. “Wow. That sucks.”

She nodded and stepped back. “I’m sorry. It’s just not fair. And Colette was so young.”

“Any war is awful, but that attack on Pearl Harbor caught everyone off guard.”

After reading about the attack, Higgins had paged through the journal trying to find news of Jack. Colette hadn’t known for days and worked through the nights triaging patients one after another. She asked everyone she met if they knew Jack. She was nine months pregnant at this point and only that baby kept her going.

Magnum took the journal from Higgins.

“Hey, why don’t we go out to lunch. I think we could use a break.”

“OK,” she said, taking the journal back from him. “But I need to find out if the baby was a girl or a boy.”

He smiled over at her. “You DO believe in true love Juliet Higgins. Colette and Jack’s story proves it.” 

She glared at him, but didn’t contradict his point.

He drove to a taco stand while she quickly read through the next couple of weeks of entries. 

“It’s a girl! She had their daughter on Christmas Day.” Higgins looked over at Magnum, smiling. “Oh. She called her Jacqueline after Jack.”

“I like it,” Thomas said.

Then Higgins was silent as she quickly finished the passage.

“Oh no. She decided to give her baby up for adoption.”

Higgins looked over at Magnum. “What a terrible decision she had to make. I guess she felt that she was too young to raise the baby alone? But it was her only connection to Jack. I never could have done that.”

She was so adamant that Thomas didn’t know how to respond.

Higgins snapped the journal closed. “It sounds like someone in Minnesota adopted the baby. We need to find her Thomas. If Colette was 18 when her daughter was born, Jacqueline would be 79 today. Maybe this is why we’re here.”

“But don’t you think Colette would have tried to find her daughter over the years? Or maybe her daughter would have tried to find her?”

They were sitting at a picnic table with their lunch. “I don’t know. I’ll read through the later journals to see if there’s anything in there about the baby. I’m not even hungry,” she said, pushing her food around her plate.  
“Higgy. You need to eat something.”

She frowned at him, but picked up her taco.

They finished their lunch and reluctantly headed back to the house to clean out the bedrooms.

Thomas had barely stepped through the front door when he was hit from behind and dropped to the ground.

“Thomas!”

Higgins fought hard, but the two men over-powered her.

“Let’s get rid of them,” were the last words she heard before giving in to oblivion.

Thomas woke first. He groaned and rolled to his side. The last thing he remembered was unlocking the front door.

“Higgins!” He sat up quickly and looked around. He found her two feet away curled onto her side. He crawled to her.

“Hey. Higgy.” He cupped her head carefully. “Come on Juliet. Open those beautiful eyes for me.”

He could tell she was breathing. He quickly felt her arms and legs, looking for an injury. He knew she would most likely tackle him if she woke up while he was doing this.

When he touched her side, he felt her breath quicken and she whimpered.

“Oh. Higgy. It’s OK.”

She opened her eyes. 

“That’s my girl.” He smiled at her. 

“Thomas,” she whispered. “Where are we?”

“We were attacked at the house. I’m not sure where we are now.”

He looked around the room. It looked like a hunting cabin. He focused back on her. “How are you feeling?”

She groaned and gave up trying to sit up. “There were two men. They surprised me. My ribs hurt.”

She lifted up the bottom of her shirt and tried to look at her stomach, but couldn’t bear the pain. “You have to look.”

Thomas’ eyes were filled with something she couldn’t quite place.

He lifted the shirt up and studied the bruising. As gently as he could, he felt her ribs. Her breath hissed out. “I think they’re just bruised, but you really need an X-ray. I’m sorry Higgy.”

Thomas was looking at her like she imagined Jack had looked at Colette the night before he died.

\-------

They had been lying together in Jack’s bed. He had kissed her deeply and then kissed her belly.

“I think it’s a girl.”

“Oh yeah,” Colette had said, laughing

“I think she’s going to be as beautiful as you.” He was staring into her eyes like he was trying to memorize everything about her.

Colette reached up and cupped his cheek.

“I hope she is as kind as her father.”

They both felt the war pressing in. Things were tense on base and Jack had to report to the USS Arizona the next morning. They weren’t sure when they would see each other again.

“Take care of her,” he said, resting his hand on her swollen belly. “I love you Colette. More than anything in this world.”

Then he had jumped out of bed, surprising her, and rummaged through his drawer. He came back to the bed holding a velvet box. She sat up against the headboard, her eyes wide. “Jack.”

“Colette will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

He opened the lid of the box and there was the most beautiful pink diamond ring nestled into the velvety lining.

She actually squealed when she saw it, which was nothing like her. “Yes! A thousand times yes!”

He put the ring on her finger and leaned in to kiss her again.

\------

“Higgins!” Thomas was frantic. She was staring right through him.

Higgins focused back on Magnum.

“You’re back,” he said. “You scared me.”

“It’s the ring,” she said.

“Higgins. Look at me. What year is it?”

“I know what year it is Magnum. I also know what Todd and Mandy are after. The engagement ring!”

She told Magnum about the ring Jack had given Colette right before he died. 

“How did they hear about that?”

“I don’t know.”

Thomas helped Higgins sit up. He looked around the cabin. There was plenty of food and other provisions.

“I don’t think they wanted to kill us,” he said. “I think they just wanted us out of the way. It’s getting late. I’m going to try to get us out of here.” 

He managed to crawl through the tiny bathroom window and used an old tractor on the property to drive through the front door.

He was grinning like a kid in a candy shop.

“Was that really necessary?” Higgins asked.

“I had to save my damsel in distress.”

She rolled her eyes and limped out the giant hole in the front of the cabin.

They grabbed some water and headed out.

“At some point we’ll hit the ocean,” Thomas said. He let Higgins set the pace and after two hours of hiking, she was exhausted. She didn’t say anything, but gratefully sank to the ground when Thomas suggested they settle in for the night.

Thomas sat with his back against a tree.

“Here, lean against me Higgy. Don’t give me any attitude either.”

She was too exhausted to say anything. She settled between his legs and leaned against his solid chest. Her eyes immediately closed and she sighed.

“Doing OK?”

“Just tired.”

“We have to be close to something. We’ll be able to see more in the morning.”

She nodded.

With his arms and legs holding her securely in place, she relaxed against him and fell asleep.

He smiled and gently kissed the top of her head. “Goodnight Higgy.”

By morning they were both stiff and Higgins’ ribs were aching. It took another hour to reach the road and luckily a passerby let them use his phone. They were at the hospital by noon.

About a month ago, Higgins had asked Magnum if he would be her healthcare power of attorney. “You’ll probably never need to make any decisions, but just in case,” she had said.

“I get to decide everything?” he had asked with a gleam in his eye.

“You know, maybe this isn’t the best idea,” and she tried to grab the paperwork away from him.

“I’m kidding. You know I will do this. And you should be mine too.”

“What about Rick or T.C.?”

“You and I are usually together when something bad happens,” Magnum pointed out. “Besides I don’t entirely trust that Rick wouldn’t order some added plastic surgery or something just to mess with me.”

“Of course I’ll be your power of attorney,” Higgins said.

Well, here he was already with a stack of paperwork just in case Higgins needed help after her X-ray. He hated that she was hurt. He hated the feeling that something worse could have happened. He rubbed his hand over his face.

“Your wife will be right out,” a nurse said. “Oh, I’m sorry I startled you. I just thought you’d want to know that she’s doing just fine. No broken ribs, but she will need to take it easy for the next week. Maybe you should buy her flowers.”

Thomas smiled. “Thank you. I think I will.”

They were finally back at Colette's by dinner time. Todd and Mandy were long gone and the police had an APB out on them. Colette’s house was trashed. There were huge holes in the walls and even the garden looked like a bulldozer had driven through it.

Plus the journals were gone.

Thomas put his arm around Higgins and gently pulled her to him. “We’ll find the journals,” he said. “You need to find out how Jack and Colette’s story ends.”

Higgins looked up at him. He had such kind eyes, just like how Colette described Jack. She felt safe when Thomas was around. Not safe because he protected her from danger. But just safe, like she didn’t have to prove herself all the time. Like she was home.

Suddenly, she turned in his arms to face him. “I think I know where the diamond is.”


	4. Diamond in the rough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mystery solved. But is it?

As much as they both wanted to see if Higgins really did know where the diamond was, they were too exhausted. Magnum finished securing the house and covering one of the windows that had been broken. He looked around the house, picturing Colette walking through the same rooms.

“We’re going to figure this out,” he said out loud, as if she was actually listening.

He went upstairs and knocked on Higgins’ door.

“Higgy? Can I come in?”

“Sure,” came the tired reply.

He walked over to the bed, sat down next to her and took off his shoes.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m getting ready for bed?”

“Don’t you have your own bed?”

“I do, but the doctor said I should keep an eye on you, and I can’t do that very well from the next room now can I?”

She sighed. “Thomas. I’m fine. Sore, but fine.”

“I know,” he said looking over at her. She read the worry in his brown eyes.

She gave him a tired smile. “You can stay.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

He stretched out next to her and felt himself finally relax.

He reached for her hand, tucking it into his.

“I didn’t really like today,” he said.

“Me neither.”

“What’s the plan for tomorrow? Are we going to look for the diamond?”

“Yes. I want to call Kumu and find out what she knows about pink diamonds. Especially pink diamonds around the World War II era.”

He yawned. “Sounds like a plan.”

He turned on his side to face her and tucked her hand under his chin.

“Good night Higgy. Wake me up if you need me.”

And he was asleep in an instant.

She studied his profile. “Goodnight Thomas,” she whispered.

By morning, they both felt semi-normal again. Apart from her aching ribs, Higgins was pretty much herself, which Thomas was very glad to see.

He wandered into the kitchen as she was talking to Kumu.

She smiled at him and then focused back on the conversation.

“There was a big write up about the pink diamonds about a year ago,” Kumu said. “I think they were doing an exhibit on war brides at the Pearl Harbor Memorial. It’s probably online if you want to read it. It was called something about a rose or thorns. I can’t remember.”

“Thanks Kumu,” Higgins said. “This was a big help. I’ll look for that article. Hey, we might be home sometime tomorrow.”

“Ok. See you then Juliet.”

Higgins quickly found the article. Kumu was right. It was titled, “A Rose Among Thorns.” Apparently, many servicemen purchased pink diamonds for their significant others during World War II. That was the rose. The thorns symbolized the war.

The most interesting part of the article, though, was a quote from Colette about Jack and a photograph of her ring. She talked about how she hadn’t taken the ring off in more than 75 years.

"This has to be how Todd and Mandy found out about the ring," Higgins thought.

But when Thomas had called the attorney, the ring was not listed with her personal affects. She had not been wearing it when she died.

Higgins wandered out to the back patio where Thomas was looking at the damage in the yard.

“I have a hunch about where the ring is.”

“OK. Let’s check it out.”

“I’m not positive, but Colette always mentioned a park where she and Jack would meet. It was tiny and usually deserted. She liked to pretend that it was there just for them.”

The park was located near the Pearl Harbor base and had definitely been upgraded since the 1940s. With a picnic pavilion and access to the beach, it was perfect for families. Magnum and Higgins were the only visitors when they arrived.

Higgins studied the layout. “It looks so different from how Colette described it,” she said. “There was a big Jacaranda tree she wrote about. It had the most beautiful indigo blossoms. Jack would pick them and put them in her hair.”

Higgins spun around, looking at the park from all angles. “They carved their initials in that tree.”

She sighed. “I guess it’s not here after all that time.”

Thomas reached for her hand. “Where did she say it was?”

“It was supposed to be in the southwest corner.”

He started walking in that direction, pulling her along with him.

“I was stupid to think that it would be here after all those years,” Higgins said.

They came to a hollow stump where the tree should have been. There was a bench in that corner of the park. Higgins sat down while Thomas felt around inside the stump. He came up empty-handed.

“It was definitely a good thought Higgy.”

She gave a half-hearted smile and looked out toward the ocean. Something winked at her from the small tree in front of her. She stood up and walked over. The sunlight was hitting something and sending reflections in all directions. Pink reflections. Her heart started beating faster as she parted the leaves.

There, hanging from a piece of wire amongst the leaves, was Colette’s engagement ring.

“Thomas!”

They quickly untangled the ring. “Oh my God. She showed us right where it was,” Higgins said, laughing.

“You knew where to look.”

“And now you can give that to us.”

Magnum and Higgins spun around to find Todd and Mandy behind them with a gun.

Thomas groaned.

“I’ll take that,” Mandy said, walking toward them.

Thomas grabbed the ring from Higgins and hurled it toward the ocean.

“Thomas!” Higgins screamed.

“What are you doing?” Todd yelled. “That was a really dumb move.”

He and Mandy scrambled toward the water.

Thomas grabbed Higgins’ hand and pulled her toward their car. They pulled out and drove to a hidden driveway right down from the park. Thomas called the police.

He looked over at Higgins while they waited.

“I wish we didn’t have to lose the ring,” she said, looking out the window.

“You mean this ring,” Thomas asked, holding up the diamond.

“You kept it?! What?” Higgins asked, taking the ring from him.

Then she looked at Thomas’ hand.

“No Thomas. You threw your ring.”

“It’s OK. I can get another one. It’s not the ring itself, it’s what it symbolizes.”

She searched his eyes. It symbolized freedom and the friendship between Thomas, Rick and T.C. It also meant honor. These were all qualities that set Thomas apart. She smiled at him.

The police raced into the park parking lot and Magnum and Higgins followed after them.

Before they got out of the car, Thomas took Colette’s ring and slipped it onto Higgins’ finger. The symbolism of the gesture was not lost on either of them.

“Just for safekeeping,” Thomas said, squeezing her hand.

Covered in sand and dirt, Todd and Mandy were arrested. The box of journals was in the back seat of the car. “The rest of the items in the car need to be catalogued, but you can have the box of books,” the officer said, when Higgins asked to take them. Something felt different when she pulled the journals out of the back seat. It was almost as if Colette was getting ready to say goodbye.

Thomas and Higgins spent the next week packing up the rest of the contents in the house. Higgins also poured through the journals searching for clues about Jacqueline. And after three weeks away, they finally made it back to Robin’s Nest.

Magnum walked over to the Main House later that night. He found Higgins asleep on the couch. He carefully pulled the journal she had been reading out of her hands.

“Jack, I’ll see you soon.” It was the last entry Colette ever wrote.

He put the book on the coffee table and grabbed the blanket from the couch. He gently draped it over Higgins. 

“Thomas.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

She grabbed his hand. Something had shifted during their time at Colette’s house. He sat down on the coffee table next to the couch and smiled at her.

“We have to be at the airport early tomorrow,” he said.

“I know. Can you stay with me?”

She let go of his hand to move some pillows and scooted over on the couch.

“Seriously?” he said, eyeing the small space.

She grabbed his hand again and pulled him toward her. He lay down next to her. With her head resting on his chest, she looked up at him.

“Thank you.”

He smiled at her. Then she leaned in and kissed him, pulling his head closer. His arm tightened around her.

“Higgy, you know how I feel about you, right?” he whispered.

She nodded and tucked her head under his chin. Maybe Colette was right. Some risks in life were definitely worth taking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and Juliet finally get to meet Jacqueline.


	5. Coming full circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnum and Higgins give Jack and Colette's story a happy ending.

Higgins had combed through the journals trying to find clues about baby Jacqueline. When the baby was born, Colette simply wrote that she was giving her up for adoption. Higgins could find no trace of any adoption records. That wasn’t entirely surprising due to the state of the world following the attack on Pearl Harbor, and also because records were kept entirely different back then. She just assumed that Colette chose a closed adoption and did not want her daughter to contact her. 

Colette went on to have an incredibly successful nursing career. She lived on Oahu her entire life She wrote about her friends who adopted her as a member of their families. She was “aunt” to their children.

“It’s so sad,” Higgins said to Magnum, as they were flying to Minnesota. “Why didn’t Colette ever get married?”

“I guess Jack really was her soulmate and she never found anyone else,” he said. He leaned his seat back slightly, put his hand on her knee and closed his eyes.

Higgins had been wrestling with that exact fact. Did that mean that she and Richard had not been soulmates? Or that they weren’t meant to be married? What about Thomas and Hannah?

She looked over at the man next to her. She had thought she loved Richard, and she believed that she did, but it was different than what she felt for Thomas. She felt almost giddy when he looked at her sometimes and so incredibly happy when he was around. Well, most of the time. Were they soulmates? They did finish each other’s sentences and he knew exactly the kind of mood she was in just by looking at her. He could change a bad day to good simply by walking into the room. She also knew that if something happened to Thomas, she wasn’t sure she would recover. Maybe they were soulmates. He smirked in his sleep, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

“Oh Colette,” she thought. “I know exactly how you felt about Jack.”

Colette had had a brief health scare in her 80s, about 10 years ago. She recovered completely, but the slight heart attack clearly had her thinking about her past. It was the 2010 journal that held all of the secrets.

Colette had an older brother David in Minnesota. David and his wife, Miriam, had tried for years to have children, but never could. Colette adored her brother and was devasted when he cut her out of his life when she followed Jack to Hawaii. After Jack died, Colette called David. 

Higgins had stopped reading at that point. She could feel the pain coming off those pages as Colette wrote about her daughter and how hard it had been to make that phone call. She had asked her brother David to adopt the baby. There was one condition: they must pretend that they were Jacqueline’s natural parents and they must never tell her about Colette.

David and Miriam had reluctantly agreed. They met Colette and the baby in Los Angeles. They changed her name to Meredith and flew back to Minnesota as a family. Colette felt like she had lost Jack all over again. She spent a week in California wandering the streets like a ghost – distraught and heart broken. When she finally returned to Oahu, she never spoke of Jacqueline again.

Once Higgins had the details, she had found Meredith Bauer Hanson quite easily. And Meredith did know that she was adopted, but she only learned of it right before her mother passed away about 10 years prior. She grew up thinking she was David and Miriam’s daughter. She was eager to meet Higgins and Magnum, and to read the journals.

The plane began its descent into Minneapolis and Thomas woke up to find Higgins looking at him anxiously.

He reached out and cupped her cheek.

“Hey. It’s going to be OK.” He leaned over and kissed her, smiling.

“I’m so nervous,” she said. “I feel like I’m Colette meeting my daughter for the first time.”

“You look really good for a 97 year old.”

She shoved him. “You know what I mean.”

Meredith lived on a tree-lined street in Little Falls. Her granddaughter Emily answered the door.

“Hello! Gran is so excited to meet you. Actually, we all are. Oh. I should probably introduce myself. I’m Emily, her granddaughter. Come in.”

Meredith was wonderful. She was full of life and happy and eager to get to know Juliet and Thomas.

They explained about the lawyer and the case, and how they had found the journals and learned of Colette’s story.

“I had heard stories of Colette from my parents when I was growing up,” she said. “I always knew her as my aunt, my father’s baby sister. She was quite beautiful and had a zest for life.”

Then Meredith turned to Emily. “Honey, go get those pictures of Colette that we found the other night.”

When Emily returned, they poured over the photographs. “These were from her high school graduation, pretty much right before she left.”

Emily picked up one photograph and looked at Higgins. “She kind of looks like you,” she said.

Meredith pointed to another picture. “And here’s Jack too. I guess they were dating at the time. My father wasn’t too fond of Jack, but I guess Colette really loved him.”

“It seems that she did,” Higgins said, “at least from what she wrote about. She was a pretty incredible woman.”

Thomas was sitting next to Higgins on the couch. His hand squeezed her shoulder.

Higgins reached into her purse and pulled out the engagement ring. “Jack gave this to Colette right before he was killed. He had asked her to marry him.”

The diamond winked in the light.

“Oh my. It’s beautiful,” Meredith said, as Higgins handed it to her. "I think I would have been lucky no matter who my parents were."

They spent the next four hours talking with Meredith and her family. Then suddenly it was time to go. As Higgins was talking with Emily and her fiancée, Meredith walked over to Thomas and handed him the ring.

“I want you to have this.”

“What? No. It’s your family heirloom. I’m sure your granddaughter would love it.”

“I have had such a wonderful life thanks to Colette. I adored my parents, I married a wonderful man and had two children. They blessed me with grandchildren who are the light of my life. We have had plenty of good fortune.”

She paused to look over at Juliet. “I just feel that Colette would want you to have this to give to your fiancé.”

Thomas looked at Higgins. “She’s not my fiancé.”

“Not yet, but I can see how you two look at each other.”

He smiled and nodded at her. “You are a wise woman.”

“Send me a picture from the wedding.”

“I will,” he said. “Are you sure about the ring?”

“I’m positive.”

She leaned in and hugged him and then turned and hugged Higgins.

“Thank you both for the wonderful gift. You have brought me so much joy.”

They got back to the hotel when a light snow began to fall.

“Can we walk a little?” Higgins asked. “It’s so beautiful. It reminds me of London.”

They walked toward the falls downtown. There was a walkway that ran along the river and they followed it for a bit before stopping to watch the water. Higgins leaned on the railing looking at the water.

“That was a quite a case,” she said.

Thomas was standing next to her, studying the water. “Yes it was.”

He turned to look at her, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. Really kissing her. It was the kind of kiss that left her breathless.

“You are amazing,” he said when he pulled away. “Because of you, this family will have closure after 79 years.”

She smiled at him. “Actually, you’re the one who accepted the case.”

“Yes, but only because I knew you would solve it.”

She laughed.

“Come on,” and he grabbed her hand and pulled her back toward the hotel.

She paused for a minute and looked behind her. She could have sworn she saw Jack and Colette in the distance.

“Higgy?”

She looked at Magnum and when she turned back around, whatever she had seen was gone.

Later that night, Higgins was asleep in Magnum’s arms. He was awake. He realized that he loved her so much and he didn’t want to waste any more time. If Jack and Colette had taught him anything it was that life is short. He eased his arm out from under her and slipped out of bed.

The ring Meredith had given back to him was still in his coat pocket. He held it up so it caught the moonlight streaming in through the window. He looked over at Higgins. His heart fluttered a little as he thought about the life they could have together.

He went back to the bed and climbed in next to her, wrapping his arms around her.

Her nose wrinkled. “Thomas? Why are you so cold?”

He smiled as she looked up at him.

“I love you Juliet. Will you marry me?” And he held up the pink diamond ring that all those years ago had symbolized the love between Jack and Colette.

Higgins sat up quickly holding the blanket around herself. “Thomas? How did you get that ring?”

“Meredith gave it to me so I could give it to you.”

“But what about her family?”

“She said Colette would want you to have it.”

“But?”

“Higgins! I really want to marry you. Will you answer the question and then you can overanalyze the situation for the rest of our lives.”

She frowned at him as he grinned at her.

“I love you Juliet,” he said kneeling on the bed and framing her face with his hands. “I don’t want to waste any more time.” And then he kissed her and she forgot everything else she was going to ask him.

“Yes.”

He slipped the ring on her finger and squeezed her hand. As he looked at the woman who was going to be his wife, he felt that maybe they could give Jack and Colette’s story the happy ending it deserved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Coming up: dinner with the smarmy neighbor, plus more secrets revealed.


End file.
